Tuesday 15 April 2014

'Our' Sheep


Yesterday in the comments, Sue from Frugal in Suffolk (simplesuffolksmallholder) asked if we still had our sheep.
 
As you can see from these pictures taken yesterday we do!!
 
She's a brilliant Mum and I'm glad she has her lamb for company, but our neighbour has yet to come and pick them up.  I guess he thinks that with free almost secure grazing he's on to a winner.  I'm tempted to make out an invoice for looking after the sheep and for the grazing costs on one of our company letterheads and stick it in the post to him :-)
 

 
So cute.
 
The dogs both go down to the fence to say hello to their woolly friends, but Mummy sheep is not impressed and usually takes her little one to the far side of the field until we have gone.
 
Yes, I did say both dogs. 
 
Although we still have the sheep, Mavis, our little rescue Jack Russell has 'done a runner'.  Last Friday Lovely Hubby decided he could trust her in the paddock while we were working, without putting her on her long staked lead ... BIG MISTAKE.  After lulling us into a false sense of security she suddenly made a beeline as if for the house but instead went up and around it and vanished over the top of the hill.
 
LH trudged the fields and roads looking for her and we drove in both directions but there was no sight of her anywhere.  We have messages on local Facebook pages and all the neighbours have been asked to look out for her but we in fact are holding little hope of seeing her again.
 
Her one mission since being here has been to make off, no matter what we did and what bribes we offered, although she was happy indoors with us and on walks, she just wanted to bolt when ever she was not on a short lead. 
 
It feels strange here at the moment but life is so much easier, the other two dogs have settled back into their grumbly, sisterly relationship and the doors and windows can once again be left open.  I can open the door to the postman without first having to catch and pick up a struggling dog and when we go out to the car I do not have to put one dog onto a lead for the 20 yards or so to get to it.
 
I just really, really hope that if someone has picked her up to keep for themselves, and we think this is the case as there has been no reported accidents and no phone call, (she is both micro-chipped and has a tag with my phone number) they look after her and love her ..... as we briefly did.
 
Sue xx


25 comments:

  1. The sheep are so cute- what a shame some farmers don't look after their stock.
    You would think Mavis would have realised how comfortable life was at Chez Sue's and have wanted to stay put. I will miss seeing her antics but maybe you haven't seen the last of her yet - there is that old saying coming home with the tail between your legs!!

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  2. As a spinner I have designs on those fleeces....if they end up staying with you :D....what a surprise about Mavis, I thought she was settling in and less inclined to bolt....a gps tracker on her collar would have been interesting if she always bolts over the hill. It would be fascinating to know what is such a strong 'pull' for her. It sounds as though the other two are happy to be a pair again tho....As has already been said, she may soon realise what she is missing and come back!

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  3. Oh, Mavis! I wonder if she has gone 'home'...perhaps you'll find her wandering on the road again.
    Jane x

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  4. Love your sheep. I think I'd just keep 'em. Hope the dog returns but if not hopefully a good home has been found. Deb

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  5. Oh Sue I hope she comes back to you. xx

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  6. Sounds like you had a terrier version of the Littlest Hobo (not that I'm old enough to remember that program cough cough) The sheep are adorable, he really is a piece of work leaving them there!

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  7. Such a cute photo of Mum and her offspring.

    I have a Lakeland terrier.....fortunately our garden is secure because if she saw a rabbit she would be gone over the hills and far away. I do so hope your little dog is ok and that she comes home........

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  8. Sounds as if the owner of the sheep has abandoned them. Is there a statute in place to deal with this? What an odd circumstance. Bill him by all means.
    Sorry to learn about Mavis. I have a Pom who will bolt at the drop of a hat. I have had him for 7 years and it is obvious that he loves me and I him, but the gypsy wanderlust is just too strong. He has been picked up by kind strangers and returned each of the 3 times he has bolted. He always gives me the business for a couple of days after her returns, looking at me with such disappointment that I left him!

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  9. That mother sheep looks very uncomfortable with that thick coat in the hot sunshine. I'm with Regena - can you contact the council about them? I, too, miss Mavis. She was a darling...

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    1. It's still too early to shear sheep around these parts. No sheep in any of the fields have been sheared yet, we are still having frosts at night.

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  10. So sad to read about Mavis having left you.

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  11. Sorry to hear about Mavis, we have a Jack Russell like that, we can never let him off the lead outside or have doors open. It's nothing to do with not loving the family and home, the wanderlust is just too ingrained. I hope she comes back or has found a home as loving as the one you gave her xx

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  12. Hope Mavis returns x Aren't animals the funniest things? You'd have thought she would have kept her feet firmly under your table !

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  13. Oh no I hope she comes back. How sad.

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  14. They are so cute. I never realised that you had sheep.

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    1. They're not actually ours. I had to rescue them off the main road!!

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  15. Oh, how sad about Mavis! I hope she's okay out there. Well, maybe after she's had a nice walkabout she'll come back and be more content to stay put. I've heard of people getting their dog or cat back after YEARS of being gone, so you never know! As for the sheep, why not just keep them? The owner obviously doesn't care about them and there must be laws about abandoned property where you are. I'm sure they'd be much better off with you and LH anyway. I definitely wouldn't send a bill, though. If that guy is as unreasonable as he seems it could end up turning into some kind of feud and you wouldn't want that. The less dealings you have with him the better.

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  16. Oh poor Mavis is missing :o(( Can you keep the sheep as pets?

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  17. Maybe Mavis will return when she is hungry! Very ungrateful of her after all the love & care you gave her. But I can understand you enjoying getting back to a normal life.
    Love the sheep & I think you should keep them.

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  18. If it's anything like the West Country, people do things in their own sweet time. Especially farmers. No doubt as the sheep are safe there is no real urgency on their part.

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  19. So sad after all the love you've shown Mavis !

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  20. So sorry to hear about Mavis. I hope she comes home. Some dogs do this, just run off for a while. But you must be worrying, wondering what has happened. I've only lost a dog for 2 hours once and that was awful x

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  21. Poor Mavis - I'm sure she is having a whale of a time, in direct proportion to how much you are missing her and worrying. We never trust Monty, our border, off the lead - he would be over the horizon chasing anything he could. The heartbreak we have endured twice when we lost him (once for about 40 minutes, the other time for about 10) is enough to keep him firmly in check.

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  22. Oh poor Mavis. I have everything crossed that she finds her way home. :(

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